To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

​Thousands Of Married Couples Filed For Divorce On Valentine’s Day Last Year

​Thousands Of Married Couples Filed For Divorce On Valentine’s Day Last Year

The sector had a whopping 549 percent increase in trade last Valentine’s Day compared with the annual average

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

While many see Valentine's Day as the most romantic day of the year, some others can see through the nauseating cloud of heart-shaped balloons, cheap fizz and bright pink stuffed teddy bears.

But rather than hopping onto Twitter to declare gallantly that you're not celebrating Valentine's Day because it's just a Hallmark holiday and we should all appreciate our other halves every day of the year, there are some people who decide to go one step further.

According to data from Paymentsense, thousands of married couples in the UK filed for divorce on 14 February last year. I know, what a way to stick it to St Valentine, eh?

The figures found that solicitors, attorneys and legal services saw the biggest trading increase on 14 February 2018 across a network of 70,000 businesses.

Paymentsense said the sector had a whopping 549 percent increase in trade last Valentine's Day compared with the annual average - in turn suggesting the day could be something of a trigger for couples to kickstart the separation proceedings.

via GIPHY

Elsewhere, the stats were a little more positive. Florists, for example, saw trade peak on 13 February, with sales volumes of five times the annual average - their second most important time of the year, after the Mother's Day weekend, which last year saw a sales uplift of 765 percent.

Other sectors also enjoyed an increase in sales over Valentine's Day including bowling (191 percent), the cinema (154 percent), amusement arcades (138 percent) and tourist attractions and exhibitions (122 percent).

Guy Moreve of Paymentsense said: "We were surprised to see that legal firms achieved the best percentage sales growth on Valentine's Day last year - even beating florists.

"We'll be watching closely over the next few days to see if this trend is repeated. Our findings also underline how certain events can trigger consumer spending in unexpected areas.

"Just because a company might not seem directly related to a particular festival or occasion, business owners can still take the opportunity to think laterally when it comes to customer promotions, beyond the more obvious tie-ins."

Wedding rings.
PA

Valentine's Day 2019 sales forecast (based on 2018 sales increase)

1. Solicitors, Legal Services, Attorneys (+549 percent)
2. Florists (+467 percent)
3. Bowling Alleys (+191 percent)
4. Cinema (+154 percent)
5. Amusement arcades (+138 percent)
6. Service stations (+132 percent)
7. Tourist attractions and exhibitions (+122 percent)

But it's not all doom and gloom. While all these divorces are kicking off, another new study found that more than 100,000 men in the UK are expected to get down on one knee on 14 February and ask their loved ones to marry them.

Yes, it seems that some 115,000 men who are currently living with their partners will have chosen the special day to pop the big question next month.

Or, of course, you could just get back to writing that uppity tweet about ignoring Valentine's Day altogether...

Featured Image Credit: Pixabay

Topics: UK News, Divorce, Relationships, Valentine's Day, marriage